Following the team with a unique perspective on all things Phillies.Email me: PhilliesPhollowers@comcast.net – Peace, Love & Baseball – Jenn

Results tagged ‘ Ricky Bottalico ’

The Phillies announced today who will be on the 25-man roster for the NLDS and there are really no surprises.Those notable players who did not make it include Kyle Kendrick, Danys Baez and David Herndon.Here is the breakdown:

Pitchers

Roy Halladay

Roy Oswalt

Cole Hamels

Joe Blanton

Brad Lidge

Ryan Madson

Jose Contreras

J.C. Romero

Chad Durbin

Antonio Bastardo

Catchers

Carlos Ruiz

Brian Schneider

InfieldersOutfielders

Ryan Howard

Jayson Werth

Chase Utley

Shane Victorino

Jimmy Rollins

Raul Ibanez

Placido Polanco

Ben Francisco

Wilson Valdez

Ross Gload

Mike Sweeney

Domonic Brown

Greg Dobbs

Going with 10 pitchers instead of 11 allows the Phillies to add more fire power to the bench.They expect the 3 starters to go deep into games so extra long men in the pen will likely not be necessary.Blanton will fill the role if needed.

As for Ruiz and Romero, manager Charlie Manuel says both players are fine and ready to play after suffering minor injuries on Sunday.

If you are going to the game tomorrow, here is the information about pre-game festivities and other highlights:

2:00 p.m. – Phillies Postseason Party begins on Citizens Bank Way. Features music by Mr. Greengenes; Highlights include an inflatable obstacle course for children, face painters, an extreme rock wall climb and a Velcro race.

Throughout most of the year, Roy Halladay has not gotten a great deal of run support from his teammates.Today, he had a rough time against the Mets, allowing 2 runs in the first inning alone to put the Phillies in a quick hole.Halladay seemed off but he did pitch 7 innings; on 9 hits and a walk, he allowed 5 runs while striking out 10 batters.

But the offense did not let Halladay down this time.After a Jimmy Rollins 1-out double in the 3rd, the Mets short stop Jose Reyes committed a fielding error that allowed Placido Polanco to reach base.From there, a rally was born.Remember yesterday when mascot J-Roll Smurf put the voodoo hex on Reyes?Coincidence?Well, who cares…it worked, whatever it was.

The Reyes error sent the Phillies on a huge tear; Ross Gload singled, which scored Rollins.And then the super-hot Raul Ibanez extended his hitting streak to a career high 16 games with a 3-run homer.Later, a Brian Schneider single scored Jayson Werth for the 5th run of the inning.Werth had also homered the inning before.Here are a few shots of the home runs and subsequent celebrations:

The effort was all around for the Phillies.Not only did the offense score 6 runs for Halladay, they played solid defense as well.Halladay kept running into trouble, but some good pitches, a double play and a few diving grabs helped him out.Gload especially gave a great effort at first base filling in for the injured Ryan Howard.Here are a few more action shots from the game:

Another huge positive to come out of this 6-5 win was the back-end of the bullpen.Ryan Madson played “Bridge to Lidge” in his former excellent fashion, shutting the Mets down in the 8th.And then Brad Lidge, with his usual tense moments, did finally get the save with only a 1-run lead.Both pitchers have been up and down so it was nice to see the pen work the way it is actually supposed to in a tight game.

There was positive news before the game as well.Both Chase Utley and Shane Victorino were out running around and playing Frisbee on the field.This is meant to be a conditioning exercise, and Utley was quite serious about getting the job done.

Victorino, on the other hand, while still getting the job done, looked more like a kid playing in his back yard than a professional ballplayer.He even raced someone’s kid at one point.Nothing wrong with a little fun ;o)Victorino was running very well and it looks like he may be activated soon.He will start a rehab assignment on Tuesday and may be back by next weekend.

Also before the game, the Alumni Batting Challenge took place with 3 teams; Kevin Stocker with Ricky Bottalico, Jim Eisenreich with Mitch Williams and Darren Daulton with Dickie Noles.Stocker and Bottalico took home the prize. You can see many photos from the even in the full game Photo Album.

The Phillies have a day off tomorrow before the Dodgers come to town.Kyle Kendrick will start Tuesday’s game which is scheduled for 7:05pm.

The match-up of Cole Hamels and Johan Santana tonight had potential to be a very tight pitcher’s duel.And that is exactly what happened; the two pitchers were fairly even through 6 innings.Santana did not allow a hit until Placido Polanco broke through in the 6th with a single.Hamels scattered 6 hits but also struck out 11 batters.The only scar on the line for Hamels was a solo homer from Jeff Francoeur in the 7th.

Hamels reached 99 pitches by the end of 7 and was pinch hit for in the bottom of the inning.Chad Durbin pitched the 8th and had a very scary outing.With the bases loaded, he nearly walked a run home.Luckily for the Phils, Francoeur was done with the home run hitting.He went fishing for a high fastball that would have been ball four and struck out.

With the score still 1-0 in favor of the Mets going into the bottom of the 8th.The Phils had an exciting inning with a few singles and a walk.But with the bases loaded and 2 outs, Ross Gload grounded out after a very good battle at the plate.

In the 9th inning, the Phillies still could not get anything done.They ended up with only 5 hits in the loss, went 0 for 7 with runners in scoring position and left 9 men on base.While it was a disappointing loss, overall it was a good game because of the pitching.Hamels was outstanding so it hurts to see him not get the win…again.Poor guy.

The final game with the Mets is tomorrow afternoon at 1:35pm.Roy Halladay will pitch :O)The Alumni BattingChallenge will also take place before the game with 3 teams; Kevin Stocker with Ricky Bottalico, Jim Eisenreich with Mitch Williams and Darren Daulton with Dickie Noles.

I will return with photos from both the pre-game event and the Halladay domination of the Mets – yes, I fully expect Halladay domination.J-Roll Smurf, our official Phillies Phollowers mascot, says it will be so.He is in charge of the voodoo and I believe him.J-Roll Smurf has been practicing his voodoo bat attack all day long, so expect results.Go Phillies!

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